From Wikipedia.org:
The
John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is the
U.S. government installation that manages and operates America's
astronaut launch facilities. Serving as the base for the country's three
space shuttles, the
NASA field center also conducts unmanned civilian launches from adjacent
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (operated by the
45th Space Wing). KSC has been the launch site for every U.S. human space flight since December 1968. Its iconic
Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) is the fourth-largest structure in the world by volume
[1] and was the largest when completed in 1965.
[2]Located on
Merritt Island, Florida, the center is north-northwest of
Cape Canaveral on the
Atlantic Ocean, midway between
Miami and
Jacksonville on Florida's
Space Coast. It is 34 miles (55 km) long and roughly 6 miles (10 km) wide, covering 219 square miles (570 km2). A total of 13,500 people worked at the center as of 2008.
[3] All launch operations are conducted at
Launch Complex 39 (LC-39), where the shuttle's major components (
orbiter,
external fuel tank and
booster rockets) arrive, are
stacked (mated) and checked out inside the VAB; then moved to Pad 39A for launch. Shuttles were also launched from adjoining Pad 39B until 2007, when it was modified for the 2009
Ares I-X launch. Both
pads are on the ocean, 3 miles (5 km) east of the VAB. The
Shuttle Landing Facility, among the longest runways in the world, is just to the north. From 1969–1972, LC-39 was the departure point for all six
Apollo manned Moon landing missions using the
Saturn V, the largest and most powerful operational launch vehicle in history.
The KSC Industrial Area, where many of the center's support facilities are located, is 5 miles (8 km) south of LC-39. It includes the
Headquarters Building, the
Operations and Checkout Building and the
Central Instrumentation Facility. KSC is also home to the
Merritt Island Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network station (MILA), a key radio communications and spacecraft tracking complex. The center operates its own
short-line railroad.
KSC is a major Central Florida
tourist destination and is approximately one hour's drive from
Walt Disney World and other theme parks in the Orlando area. The
Visitor Complex offers public tours of the center and adjacent Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Because much of the installation is a restricted area and only nine percent of the land is developed, the site also serves as an important
wildlife sanctuary;
Mosquito Lagoon,
Indian River,
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and
Canaveral National Seashore are other features of the area. Center workers can encounter
Bald Eagles,
American alligators,
wild boars,
Eastern Diamondback rattlesnakes,
Florida panthers and
Florida manatees. KSC is one of ten major NASA field centers, and has
several facilities listed on the
National Register of Historic Places.